Acciona increased its ordinary net profit by 59.8% in 2017 to €233 million

Acciona increased its ordinary net profit by 59.8% in 2017 to €233 million, compared with €146 million in 2016, thanks to a good year for the Infrastructure division, and international construction in particular with the concurrent delivery of a number of large projects. The Construction business increased revenues and EBITDA by 57.9% and 70.4% respectively.

The impact of extraordinary items in 2016 meant that attributable net profit fell 37.5% to €220 million in 2017. The results in 2016 reflected extraordinary items, principally capital gains from the AWP-Nordex operation.

EBITDA totalled €1.28 billion (+7.0%), above the market guidance offered by the Company. ACCIONA grew strongly in Infrastructure (+33.0%), which more than compensated the slightly lower results of the Energy division (-1.9%) and Other Activities (-5.2%). Nevertheless, the Energy division continues to be the largest contributor to Group EBITDA, accounting for 57% of the total, followed by Infrastructure with 33%.

Revenues totalled €7.25 billion (+21.4%) in 2017. The higher income of the Infrastructure division (+36.8%) contrasted with the lower contribution of Energy (-3.3%) following the deconsolidation of AWP.

ACCIONA maintained its intense investment activity in 2017, with capital outlays of €920 million (+0.4%) channelled mainly into the Energy division (€468 million), and Infrastructure (€359 million including €139 million for the acquisition of Geotech in Australia).

Net financial debt as of December 31st totalled €5.22 billion (+1.8%), while the net debt/EBITDA ratio improved to 4.1x. Thanks to the change in the Company’s funding model, ordinary financial expenses decreased 23.0%, implying savings of €76 million. The cost of debt decreased to 3.77% in 2017 compared with 4.74% in 2016.

Results by division

Revenues from the Energy division were €1.74 billion (-3.3%) and its EBITDA was €726 million (-1.9%). EBITDA from international power production fell 5.5% due to lower output, while that of national production rose 9.7% thanks largely to higher wholesale energy prices (€52.24 MW/h compared with €39.67 MW/h).

Consolidated installed capacity increased by 148MW in 2017 to 7,497 MW, of which 2,874 MW were international. The Company installed new capacity in Mexico (84 MW), India (75 MW) and Canada (38 MW). Consolidated annual production totalled 16,929 GWh in 2017.

The Infrastructure division, which groups together Construction, Industrial, Concessions, Water and Services, posted revenues of €4.94 billion (+36.8%), and an EBITDA of €426 million (+33.0%). The Industrial business, which is itemised for the first time and which encompasses the Company’s industrial EPCs, posted revenues of €274 million (+57.4%) and a 60.4% growth in EBITDA to €10 million.

The Infrastructure backlog fell slightly from €19.39 billion in 2016 to €18.83 billion in 2017 (-2.9%), in spite of a record year for new contracts.

The Construction business stood out with €3.13 billion in revenues (+57.9%) and an EBITDA of €197 million (+70.4%). This exceptional level of income was due to the concurrence of a number of important international projects under construction, including the Site C hydroelectric dam in Canada, the Quito metro, the Follo Line high-speed rail tunnels in Norway, the Dubai metro extension for the Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates, and Sydney Light Rail.

Revenues in the Water business fell 3.7% while EBITDA rose 9.2% to €130 million, mainly as a result of higher Operation and Maintenance activity (+30.8%), where margins are higher. Services posted an 11.2% increase in revenues to €753 million, and a 22.6% increase in EBITDA to €34 million.

In Other Activities, (Trasmediterránea, Real Estate, Bestinver and others) revenues totalled €690 million (+3.2%). Assets under management at Bestinver were €6.06 billion on the 31st of December 2017, while EBITDA totalled €70 million (+18.9%).